EMMAUS -- Emmaus’ Main Street will welcome fall with its annual Farewell to Summer festival this weekend.
Various local businesses will have tables and offer children's activities while live music is played by the band Alias -- putting on display what downtown Emmaus has to offer.
The festival will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Emmaus Triangle.
The event is held by the Emmaus Main Street Partners under the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. Ashley Lorah, head of the Main Street Partners, said the organization has the most vendors since COVID-19 caused cutbacks to the event.
“Since COVID, people got used to shopping online or going to the big box stores that were open and could handle and have the staffing,” Lorah said. “Prioritizing the small, individually run stores is important because they are the identity of our main streets.”
Throughout downtown Emmaus, businesses also will be doing giveaways while live music is played. Lorah emphasized that doing such events keeps a highlight on how important small businesses can be to the community.
“You walk down or drive through Emmaus and you see the bookstore, the coffee shop," she said. "Like if we don't frequent those, those aren't going to have enough, they're not going to be sustained, and they'll go away.
"That'll leave gaps in our community and you won't have that same hometown feel that you want to and kind of be shifting towards corporate America. So shopping at these businesses is important.”
A Scarecrow-themed trail of many local businesses will be laid out -- each with special giveaways.
At the same time, the historical society will hold its annual Heritage Festival in tandem, and Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate will hold its public 10 year celebration -- all in downtown Emmaus.
“It's going to be a packed day on the triangle,” Lorah said. “If you get bored at one thing, you go to the next, and then if you get bored there you go to the next. So it'll really be a lot to do in the borough.
“It's going to be beautiful weather and the town's gonna be bustling.”
